Tim's strategic, creative and entrepreneurial vision has helped many SCC clients achieve success through the years. It's also helped guide SCC to its coming of age as a highly-skilled, integrated multi-platform brand champion. Tim has always been a challenger of the status quo, myopic thinking and the shackles of legacy. He's an inventive change agent with strategic business instincts and an eye for big ideas. Whether weighing in on a business plan, creative campaign, sponsorship deal, merger, acquisition, whatever, Tim will likely add value to the equation.

His career started on the account management side of the agency business before switching to the creative side as a copywriter at Bozell & Jacobs in 1986. In 1989, together with his good friend and college roommate, the late Mark Schafer, they started Schafer Condon in Condon's River North apartment.

Tim has a BA in Broadcasting & Film from the University of Iowa. He has been very active in SCC's pro bono efforts for local, regional and national organizations and was Chairman of the 4A's Chicago Council for five years.

Vision, focus, and c-suite marketing, advertising, CPG, retail and brand expertise. With nearly four decades of success (client and agency side) across categories and business models, David is an invaluable partner to clients and a leader of teams. Starting at Leo Burnett, he became a senior executive and partner – leading accounts including McDonald's, Walt Disney and Miller Brewing. He also worked with CPG clients including Kraft, Nestlé and Procter & Gamble. David left Burnett to join Sears, Roebuck and Co. during a period of transformation. As the top marketing executive and a Board-elected officer reporting directly to the Chairman and CEO, David managed the largest retail-marketing budget and organization in the U.S. He left Sears to join Potbelly Sandwich Works as CMO, helping lead their pre-IPO expansion.

David has a BA in English Literature from Amherst College and an MBA in Marketing and Finance from The Kellogg Graduate School of Management at Northwestern University. He serves as Chairman of the Governing Board of Gilda's Club Chicago and was honored with the 2014 American Advertising Federation Silver Medal Award for outstanding achievement in Advertising. David is a singer/drummer double threat and an avid golfer.

For Gail, it’s all about people and the food they love. From the start of her career, Gail has focused on foodculture and helping food & beverage brands lead the conversation. At Ketchum Chicago, she was Senior Vice President, Management Supervisor, working on Quaker Oats, Campbell's and Nestlé brands. In 1994, after a call from a couple of guys with a start-up called Schafer Condon, she made the entrepreneurial leap and championed the agency’s food & beverage practice. With Gail's human-centric management style and strategic vision, the agency continued to grow and, in 1998, became Schafer Condon Carter. Committed to the growth of our ‘humans,’ Gail leads all agency development programs. One of the industry's most respected minds in food & beverage marketing, Gail is a former board member of the Women’s Foodservice Forum and is deeply involved in the restaurant industry. Over a glass of wine, ask her about her stint as a college radio DJ. And about her passion for the Porsche 911.

Suzanne brings incredible energy, enthusiasm and a uniquely intellectual and creative skill-set to brand and creative strategy at SCC. With a rare combination of right brain/left brain firepower seemingly built expressly for the business of growing brands, her contextual understanding of culture, desire, the nuances of human behavior – and what it takes to change behavior – has been critical to the development of powerful human insights that affect the trajectory of the brands we serve. Suzanne joined SCC in 1998, working as a creative, creative director and executive creative director. Shifting gears, she co-authored the IP for our planning process and spearheaded our renewed focus on human insights. She has been an invaluable part of successful campaigns for the National Pork Board, Allen Edmonds, Santa Margherita Wines, Solo Cup Company, Seven Daughters Wines and Advocate Health Care, among many others. A native Canadian, Suzanne holds a Ph.D. in Political Philosophy from Vanderbilt University – appropriate training for a life dedicated to the art of persuasion.

An award-winning writer and creative leader, Denny's work can be seen all over the world in dozens of languages. With his ability to leverage culture and human behavior to craft powerful, compelling brand messages, he can make a jar of dirt a ‘must have.’ Denny's collaborative nature, innate curiosity and ability to see a client’s business through the eyes of the consumer have helped him lead work for brands such as Pepsi’s Mist TWST, Chicago Cubs, Eckrich Meats, Southern Comfort, Friendly’s Restaurants, First Midwest Bank, Rotary International and the Ad Council. Prior to SCC, following stints at Doner and Grant/Jacoby, Denny co-founded Romani Bros., which merged with SCC in 2008. A graduate of Northwestern University with a degree in Theater, Denny is a busy guy outside of SCC. You can find his children’s book – Robots Everywhere – on Amazon. He also writes a weekly column for the local Glenview newspaper, The Lantern.

John takes a thoughtful, disciplined approach to consulting clients on digital and mobile engagement. His twenty-plus years working with leading technology, media and telecom companies grounds his deep understanding of the hyper-connected digital world in which our clients compete. Prior to SCC, John led the development, productization and market launch of several proprietary digital engagement solutions. He was CEO of 4DK Technologies (acquired by Radius Networks), a start-up focused on contextual communications for the mobile carrier industry and founded The Global Sentry Group, a global consultancy dedicated to assisting technology companies with M&A strategies, business development processes and capital raising efforts. John's entree to the digital space came via Wall Street, where he covered technology and telecommunications verticals as an investment banker and equity analyst. John graduated with a BA in Geology and Chemistry from Hamilton College in Clinton, NY. He loves spending time with his three children discovering new hikes, fishing holes and ice cream shops.

Mike brings creativity and executive-level counsel to clients across the agency. He has helped drive digital transformation for our clients and leads our PR, Influencer and Social Media practice. His forward-thinking, genre-busting approach has led client/agency teams to multiple awards including two Public Relations Society of America Silver Anvils and an Effie for ‘Most Innovative Product Launch’ from the American Marketing Association. After coming up through the ranks of Edelman, Burson-Marsteller and Porter Novelli, Mike was tapped by Leo Burnett to build and launch the agency's PR practice. He grew Leo Burnett PR into a powerful force and, when Publicis Groupe bought Leo Burnett, Mike merged his unit with MS&L and assumed the global role of Chief Integration Officer for the combined organization. Mike is active in the industry and has helped shape professional training programs, including crisis and issues management at the University of Southern California, integrated marketing at Northwestern University, and marketing and business management at the University of Chicago. Mike is a long-time Blackhawks and, gulp, White Sox fan.

Analytics and customer data mining, market segmentation and sku rationalization, channel and trade strategy, brand architecture and customer journey mapping. These are a few of Gwen’s passions. Across categories, industries and business models, Gwen's thoughtful, inventive approach solves problems and creates opportunities at the business enterprise and brand level for our clients. Gwen's first job was in the marketing department of the National Pork Board just in time for the launch of the iconic ‘The Other White Meat’ campaign (ironically, Gwen's strategic work at SCC led to dismantling that campaign in 2010). Later she moved agency-side, working on Tyson and Frito-Lay. Gwen landed at SCC in 1998 and has been posting wins ever since. Her client resume includes General Mills, Johnson & Johnson, Chicago Cubs, Hershey’s, Procter & Gamble, National Pork Board and Solo Cup. A graduate of Iowa State University with an MBA from Southern Methodist University, she is a 20-year volunteer to the Iowa Girls State program, spending a week every summer mentoring 250 17-year-olds as they develop citizenship and leadership skills.

The backbone of agency operations, from finance to HR to legal to compliance to administration, Greg joined SCC as a young’un back in 1995 and still has his boyish good looks and boundless energy. Lots and lots of energy. Greg began his career with an internship at Chiat Day that confirmed his love for advertising. He then joined Ketchum Communications working on Allstate Insurance where he met Gail Carter, who eventually brought him to SCC. Greg worked his way up managing businesses including the National Pork Board, Solo Cup, Ste. Michelle Wine Estates, Kicker Audio, Swift & Co. and Clark Retail Enterprises. As SCC continued to grow and we needed to shore up internal systems, Greg was the natural choice, given his firsthand knowledge of everything we do and how we do it. Greg is a Purdue University graduate and, while he may not be a scratch golfer, he’ll likely outdrive you by 50 yards every time.

If you want to set KPI goals and beat them, it's good to have someone like Erika on your team. Her high idle intellect and proactive management style bring unique value to every business she engages. Erika's resume spans diverse brands and businesses including CPG, consumer goods, retail, e-comm, financial services and B2B verticals. Erika started her career at Performics where she was responsible for planning and management on clients including Barnes & Noble, Bose and Wells Fargo. Since joining SCC in 2010, she has partnered with the National Pork Board, Santa Margherita Pinot Grigio, Solo Cup, First Midwest Bank, Campbell’s, Chicago Cubs, Advocate Health Care and Southern Comfort. A graduate of Loyola University, Erika is part of the SCC Operating Committee.

Crazy timelines? Strapped budgets? No biggie for Bannon. With his extensive background as an agency-side producer at Leo Burnett and client-side at ConAgra Foods, his portfolio includes award-winning creative for clients like Coca-Cola, Disney, Nintendo, McDonald’s and Procter & Gamble. An avid lover of film and golf, he considers Caddyshack a true classic.

Lauren oversees social media for SCC clients – crafting strategic, integrated programs that establish and deepen connections with consumers and deliver against business objectives. She began her career at Edelman in PR working on Burger King and then translated her earned media chops to the social media space at Edelman Digital, spearheading award-winning programming for ConAgra Foods brands including Slim Jim, Chef Boyardee and Orville Redenbacher. At SCC, Lauren has been central to social media campaigns for Eckrich meats, Kerrygold butter and cheese, Solo Cup, Southern Comfort, Seven Daughters Wines, The Federalist Wines, First Midwest Bank, Allen Edmonds and more. A University of Dayton graduate, Lauren enjoys running, endlessly renovating her 1895 Chicago home, checking out new restaurants, planning her next travel adventure, and parenting her delightful daughter.